David Maltman, Jr., age 86, of Pompton Plains and a former long-time resident of Wayne, passed away unexpectedly, while in the welcomed company of his family who were gathering for a 4th of July celebration, on Sunday, July 2, 2017.

Born in Paterson, David was raised in Elmwood Park. He attended Lodi High School where he excelled at football and track. David also had a love for speed skating and once competed in the Silver Skates speed skating competition at Madison Square Garden in New York City. After graduating from Lodi High School with the Class of 1948, he began studying at Paterson State Teachers College. In the era when he attended, the college was located on 21st Avenue and Market Street in Paterson. It’s known today as William Paterson University and is located in Wayne.

While attending college, David met a lovely young lady named Ruth Wilkes who was also a student there. Their first date was to the movies. David didn’t remember what they saw but he does recall that they took a great liking to each other! Since David enjoyed ice skating, he thought he would share that love with Ruth and a second date soon followed, ice skating on Greenwood Lake.

A year-and-a-half into his studies at Paterson Teachers College, David was called to serve in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War. He and Ruth continued to date and one weekend, while he was in boot camp in Newport Rhode Island, Ruth came to visit along with David’s parents. Looking for an opportunity to be alone, Ruth and David went for a walk on the beach. While walking, he asked Ruth for her hand in marriage. They exchanged their wedding vows before God, family and friends at St. Anne’s Church in Fair Lawn on Sunday, July 12, 1953. After a reception celebration at the Wayne Manor, they spent their honeymoon traveling through New England, including a stay in Martha’s Vineyard. Then David returned to the Navy where he was stationed in Puerto Rico aboard the U.S.S. Orion. On a lighter note, one of David’s Navy duties involved operating the movie projector and selecting the movies that were presented to fellow soldiers as a form of morale boost and entertainment. David especially enjoyed this responsibility as the projector room also served as his private living quarters.

After four years in the Navy, David returned home in March, 1955 to begin his life with his adored bride. Their first home together was in Paterson and two weeks after returning, he and Ruth welcomed their firstborn – a baby girl which they named Patricia.

David resumed his studies at Paterson Teachers College while simultaneously working full time. He earned his B.S. degree in education and quickly secured his first job as a history teacher in the Wayne public elementary school system. David was passionate about his new role but he was also passionate about learning more so, while continuing to work full-time, he returned to college in pursuit of his master’s degree. He earned his masters and took a job at Glen Ridge Central Elementary School. After teaching there a short time, the school district hired a new Glen Ridge Schools superintendent. This superintendent quickly recognized that David’s educational gifts and talents were special. He promoted David to the position of school principal and together, these two men developed a whole new approach to how schools of the future would be structured. In a short time David began to lead the implementation of developing Glen Ridge School into the first middle school in the state of New Jersey. This caught the attention of other educators and David was soon involved in regular speaking engagements at conferences all over the state of New Jersey. As if this wasn’t enough to keep him busy, during his tenure with Glen Ridge, David also earned his doctorate from Nova Southeastern University in Delaware. David served the Glen Ridge School District for 18 years, from 1968 to 1986, then he moved on to become adjunct professor at William Paterson College, Montclair State College, and Ramapo College. He retired in 2003.

In 1956, as David’s family was growing, they moved to Wayne. He and Ruth were ultimately blessed with five children and all of them will testify to how they felt exceedingly blessed to have David for a father. As a school principal, he usually got a month off for vacation in the summer, and months in advance, David was planning those vacations. In the early days, there were annual trips with the whole family, including his parents, down the Jersey shore to Lavallette. Being the educator that he was, as the kids got older, David always strove for vacations that would teach and open his kid’s worlds to stimulating but fun adventures. Thus, there were many vacations to national state parks, caverns, and mountains. Then came the era of the pop-up camper. Pulled by his big-as-a-whale Dodge Polara, the whole family piled in for long and lofty excursions to see sites on the east coast like Cape Hatteras National Seashore in North Carolina, to sites in the far western part of the U.S. like Mount Rushmore in South Dakota, the Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, and the Grand Canyon in Arizona. Armed with the Woodall’s Guide to U.S. National Parks, David had as much fun planning these trips as he did taking his family on them. David’s hunger for adventure went back as far as when he was just a young man himself. In the summer before his senior year in high school, he and two of his buddies set out for a one-week campout in the mountain above Lake Hopatcong in Sussex County. The week passed by quickly and since the guys were having such a great time, they mutually agreed that they wanted to camp a bit longer. A little bit longer turned into the whole summer! To sustain themselves, they did odd jobs for the women in the homes surrounding the lake whose husbands were working full time. Quite an enterprising young lad, that David Maltman was!

David worked very hard but he always made time for his family. His youngest son Christopher in particular appreciated that Dad was always there for his Cub Scout events and football games. When the blessings of grandchildren came along, David poured himself into their lives too – just as he had done for his own kids.

Ruth and David had some great retirement years together traveling throughout the U.S. In 1992, they purchased a home in Sarasota, FL. While he loved being with his family, Ruth and David increasingly grew to dislike the cold winters, so when winter arrived, they would say goodbye to their family and head south for a few months. He and Ruth enjoyed their Florida home until selling it in 2013. They enjoyed a great marriage that spanned 61 years until Ruth’s passing in 2015. Shortly after, David sold his home of 60 years in Wayne and moved to Cedar Crest Village in Pompton Plains. There too, he quickly got involved in the newcomer’s committee and enjoyed lots of good times and laughter with his “Dining Buddies”.

David was dearly loved and respected by his entire family, but he was also loved and respected by many friends and colleagues too. A quiet, gentle leader, he would never push himself on you, but you could count on his undivided attention if you needed him. To many he was considered a father figure, filled with common sense who would always tell the truth, guided by a genuine desire to see to it that people had a good life.

David was predeceased by his beloved wife Ruth. He is survived by his five dear children: Patricia Costello of Totowa, David M. Maltman of Wayne, Kathryn Alvaro and husband Al of Hillsborough, Jayne Maltman of Lawrenceville, and Christopher Maltman of New York City; seven adored grandchildren: Michael Costello, Katelyn Costello, Allison Alvaro, Nicholas Alvaro, Christine Di Bella, Robert Di Bella, Frank and his wife Brittany Di Bella and two cherished great-grandsons: Evan and Miles Di Bella.

In addition to his wife Ruth, David was predeceased by his parents: David and Ruth Maltman, and his son-in-law Thomas Costello.